Food Policy Modelling : Responses to Current Issues

In the present economic, political, societal and environmental landscape, which is dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of challenges and issues that demand immediate and urgent responses is more intense than ever. Policymakers, international organizations, governmental and non-governmental institutions around the globe are seeking effective and sustainable policies, as they try to tackle far-reaching issues that affect all aspects of the economy and agriculture, including the food sector. In this context, this book presents new modelling approaches and their application to complex problems in the agro-food chain in order to address today’s pressing food policy issues. The respective chapters showcase national and regional studies on sustainable communities, rural environments and ecosystems. Taken together, they offer a valuable reference guide for scholars and practitioners alike.” Preface 6 Contents 8 Chapter 1: The Effect of Financial and Non-financial Factors on the Productivity and Profitability of the Goat Industry: A Mod... 10 1.1 Introduction 10 1.2 Literature Review 11 1.3 Methodology 13 1.3.1 SEM Theory 15 1.3.2 Results of SEM 16 1.4 Discussion 17 1.5 Conclusions 20 References 21 Chapter 2: Initiating Transition to Agro-ecological Farming Systems in Market-Oriented Arable Farming with Soil Conservation P... 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Materials and Methods 27 2.3 Results 30 2.3.1 Social Network Analysis 30 2.3.2 SES Results 31 2.3.3 Agro-ecological Practices in Soil Conservation Farming 33 2.3.4 Drivers and Barriers in the Adoption of Soil Conservation Practices and Key Instruments to Address Them 33 2.3.5 Assessment of Market and Policy Incentives (MPIs) 35 2.3.6 Multi-criteria Assessment of Market and Policy Incentives (MPIs) 36 2.4 Discussion 39 Appendix A 41 Appendix B 45 References 46 Chapter 3: Competitiveness, Sustainability Performances and Policy Options in the Sheep Meat Sector of Mediterranean Countries 48 3.1 Introduction and Objectives 48 3.2 The Sheep Meat Sector in the Mediterranean 49 3.3 Sustainability and the Sheep Sector 51 3.4 Concept and Assessment of Competitiveness 52 3.5 Methodology 53 3.5.1 Market Share (Export-Import) 53 3.5.2 Competitiveness Indices 53 3.5.3 Trade Balance Indices 54 3.6 Results 55 3.7 Conclusions and Recommendations 59 References 62 Chapter 4: Countries ́ Image and Agricultural Trade Volume 65 4.1 Introduction 65 4.2 Definition of Countries ́ Image 66 4.3 Methodology and Data 68 4.4 Results 71 4.5 Conclusions 75 Appendix 76 References 76 Chapter 5: Designing a Traceability Framework for Sustainable Agri-Food Supply Chains 79 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Sustainability and Traceability 80 5.3 Framework Design 81 5.3.1 Addressing Consumer Perspectives 82 5.3.2 Holistic Supply Chain Approach 82 5.3.3 Integration and Validation Through QR Code 82 5.3.4 Integration of Food Chain Information into DSS for Food Quality Assessment 83 5.3.5 Impact Assessment (Socio-economic, Environmental, Governance) 83 5.4 Beyond the State of the Art 84 5.5 Conclusions 85 References 86 Chapter 6: Digitalization in the EU Agricultural Sector: Seeking a European Policy Response 89 6.1 Introduction 89 6.2 Digitalization of the Agricultural Sector in a Nutshell 90 6.3 The AIS as a Key Concept Towards Digitalization: Theoretical Background 92 6.4 Discussion on EU Policy Response Towards Digitalization 97 6.5 Conclusions 101 References 103 Chapter 7: Why Go on Vacation to Crete? Assessing the Role of Local Cuisine 105 7.1 Introduction 105 7.2 Literature Review 106 7.3 Methodology 108 7.4 Results 110 7.4.1 Analysis of the Demographic Characteristics of the Sample 110 7.4.2 Reasons for Choosing the Island of Crete as a Destination 111 7.4.3 PCA Results 113 7.4.4 Influence of Socio-economic Characteristics on the Formation of the Main Components 115 7.5 Discussion 116 7.6 Conclusions 117 References 118 Chapter 8: Consumer Preferences for Local Food Products Marketed by Women ́s Cooperatives 121 8.1 Introduction 121 8.2 Background 123 8.2.1 Women ́s Cooperatives in Greece 123 8.2.2 Local Food Products Marketed by Women ́s Cooperatives 123 8.2.3 Heterogeneity in Consumer Preferences for Local Food 125 8.3 Research Design 126 8.3.1 Structured Questionnaire 126 8.3.2 Data Analysis 127 8.3.3 Participants and Sampling 128 8.4 Results 128 8.5 Discussion 132 8.6 Conclusion 133 References 135